America's Growing Housing and Homelessness Crisis Increases as More Tent Cities Appear Across the Nation

In the wake of the housing crash, "tent cities" have been springing up in several places in California. The story is not that new. However, it has not received much mainstream press. Therefore, many are unaware this is even happening.

An array of reports show some 1,200 people living in a growing tent city outside the California capital Sacramento, as more and more people are left homeless by the housing crisis. The UKs Daily Mail on Friday detailed the community, noting echoes of the Depression era. There are an estimated 2,000 people living in such communities around Sacramento, with foreclosure and jobless rates skyrocketing.

Smaller tent cities had been reported in Los Angeles and New Orleans over the last year, but a new photo essay, published by MSNBC, highlights both the magnitude of the Sacramento tent city and its comparison to Depression-era tent cities that emerged as homelessness became a pervasive national crisis.

The news is jolting to many who are worried that the spreading foreclosure crisis and collapse in real estate values, in combination with a faltering job market, could push families with underwater mortgages into homelessness. California is one of the wealthiest states and one of the worlds largest economies, and pressure for serious efforts to combat the economic crisis is mounting.